Improvement in the manufacture of iron and steel



FUNIT'ED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BEssEMEE, OE LONDON, ENGLAND.

. IMPROVEMENT m THE MANUFACTURE OF iRON AND STEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 5l,397, dated December 5, 1865. A

To -all whom it may concern:

Be' it known that-I, HENRY BEssEMEE, ot Queen Street Place, New Cannon Street, in the city of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in' the lilanufacture of {Maileable Iron and Steel, andn the Machinery or Apparatus Employed in such'lilanufacture .and -I do hereby declare the following to` be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. 'l In the manufacture of malleable iron and steel by forcing atmosphericair beneath the surface of molten crude or pig iron it has been found that the powerful heat generated at or near to the oriiices ofthe tuyeres, together with the chemicalaction of theslags or Oxides-of iron and slicum, has thel effect of enlarging theseoritices, and in a short time rendering the tuyeres nnfitforfurther use. Thetuyeres when thus worn have to be replaced by new ones.

The fitting in of these new tnyeres by the plan' at present practiced renders it necessary. first to knock out the old ones, and then to cool down the'converting-vessel, `'after which the Y new-tuyeres maybe inserted in their places, and the spaces around them filled up with a structin g tuyeres independent ofl the vessel ;v second, in putting in and removing such tuyeres from the converting-vessel by hydraulic appa- Y ratus third, in the employment and arrangement of retorts or chambers for heatingand retaining the heat of said tuyeres.

My improvement further consists 1n giving u rotary or semilrOta-ry motion to a convertingvessel by a hydraulic plunger audits counter-- weight also, in constructing and using a castin g-lad e with an elongated tubular spoutmade to descend into the in got-mold.

1 To enable others skilled in the art. to more fully understand and construct and use my invention, I'will proceed to describe the same.

. 0n the sheet of drawings hereto annexed,

. Figure 1 is a plan, on an enlarged scale, of one of the circular bricks forming the tuyere; Fig.

2, asection through the center of the same; Fig. 3, a cross-section on the line A B of Fig.

4, Fig. 4 being an elevation ofthe tuyere when built up, and Fig. 5 a vertical section ot' the Fig. 6 is also a vertical section of' another modification of the improved tuyere, in

Salm 6.

whichthe air-passage is formed by a wroughtiron pipe passing down the centerof the tuyere. Figs. 7 and 8 also show the lower portion of two other modilications of my improved tuyere, which consists of a number of rings or disks ot' tire-clay. (Jornish clay, plumbago and tire-clay, silica clay-',Zsilicate of magnesia, or other suitable refractoryv substance. These'rings a have a central hole in them, through which a stout steel or iron rod, b, passes. There are also several other holes, c, made through them at asmall distance from the central one, which holes are for the purpose of allowing 'air to pass through. Each ring or circular brick is put onto the ironrod b, and some reclay or other lute or plastic matter is pnt between them, so as to make a tight joint.

The surfaces ,of each disk may be ground dat, v

or they may bemolded with concentric grooves and with correspondmgrnised rings or ridges alteruating, as shown at ai, Figs. 1 and 2, so-

as to fitclosely and assist in holdin geach other together. A long column or tuyere is thus to be built up upon the rod, the air-passagesin .each piece being so placed as to form continu-I oustubes throughoutthe whole length of the column or tuyere. At the lower end a larger ring, a, is put on, having other holes, a2, around its periphery communicating with those before mentioned, the upper part of the column or tuyere beingsu'rmounted with a disk, a3, larger in diameter than the rest of the' circular pieces,

for the purpose of filling up the Oricein the Vsion ofthe rod and its rings, while they are rmly held together under a regulated pressure.

Thelowerenlarged ringa",in which the tuyereits place, and thus holds the orifices are formed, may be perforated with numerous small holes, or with a less number of holes of a larger size, or, in lieu thereof, the' air may be made to escape between at or grooved disks, as shown in Fig. 7, or from a hollow or belLShaped cavity formed beneath the center ofthe tuyere; as shown in Fig. S; but I prefer to employ circular orifices of one-half-inch to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, more or less, as shown at a2, Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

As a general rule I prefer, in this forni of tuyere, to direct thejets or1 air horizontally or at a slight angle downward; butthe openings maybe so made as to direct the jets in any other direction, either upwardor downward, or at a tan gen tto the axis of the tuyere, so as to cause a rotation of the metal in the vessel.

.In lieu of' the several air-passages formed around the iron rod, one large central hole, d, may be employed with the rod passing also down it, as shown 4in Fig. 7, or several rods may pass through separate holes in the rings, instead of one in the center. A f

In one form ormodication of the improved tuyere I employ an iron pipe, t', as shown in Fig. 6, in lieu ot' the solid iron rod. The pipe not only serves to hold the various parts ofthe tuyere together, but to convey the air to the lower part of it, and thereby render unnecessary the several air-passages before described.

The pipe t' has a plug, k, screwed into its lower end. A washer under the head ot' the plug secures the lower perforated circular brick, J, in several parts ot' the tuyere together. The air which passes down the pipe t' passes through slots formed near ythe bottom of it, and escapes into the metal through radial perforations J formed in thev lower part, J, of the tuyere. `The top end ot' the pipe f1', passing through a metalcap, l, and spring m, is secured by a screwed nut, a,

and thus the whole may be held together under apressure equal to the force of the spring m. On reference to Fig. 5, it will also be seenythat the central rod, Z1, has its lower end also screwed by a-nut and washer, p, which'are contained in a recess formed in the center of the lower circular brick, a. After screwing on this nut the recess istilled with clay or loam, to prevent the metal from having access to it, this precaution bei-ng taken inA every modifica.- tion of these improved tuyeres.

In order to ,defend thev tuyere from the sudden action of the heat thereon, I prefer to loam up 7 the outside of it with any suitable plastic matter, such as iire-clay-and sand, or what is known as silica clay, the outside of the tuyere-bricks being scoredor roughened to facilitate the adhesion of this coatingg The several 'rings before mentioned vmay'- be made of plastic clay or other material; but I prefer to make them of dry materials by means of powerful pressure in suitable molds, in a manner well understood and practiced in making bricks, tiles, and other articles in dry powdered clay or china-earth, after which they are to be baked or burned.

Having described the nature of my improved tuyeres, I will now proceed to show in what man-A ner they are to be employed in the manufacture ofgmalleable iron and steel. For this purpose I have on the sheet of drawings hereunto annexed shown, at Fig. 9, a vertical section of the converting apparatus and its appliances, and at Fig. 10 an elevation of the convertingvessel and the hydraulic apparatus employed to give motion to it.

l prefer to employ a spherical vessel, A, inountedon axes 0,'for the conversion of crude iron with my improved tuyeres, and to make, in addition to the usual chimney or outlet D of thc vessel, a circular opening, B, on the top of it, through which the tuyere a may be lowered` down into the fluid metal and be again raised up vertically from it, whenever it may be deemed necessary to do so, the metal cap f on the top of the tuyerebeing attached tothe hollow arm or jib E of a hydraulic crane, the ram G of which moves vertically and parallel with the blast-pipe H leading from the blowing-engine, the pipe sliding up and down through a suitable stuffing-box, I, formed on the vertical pipe v Li, so that the connection of the blast with the tuyere will not be interrupted by any motion of the tuyere and crane-armnpward or downv ward, nor by the movement of the crane onits vertical axis. Thus great facility is afforded for the rapid removal and change of the tuyere. It also admits of the raising or lowering into or out of the metal, more or less, at dilferent stages ofthe process.

0n the upper side of the blast-pipe, and in a position vertically over the air-'passages of the tuyere, I sometimes x a small globular vessel'provided with two cocks, one communicating with the blast-pipe and the other with the external air. This vessel is for the purposeof holding any fluid, granular, or powdery mattersuch as nitrate of soda, fluor-spar, metallic oxides, 0r any otherux or matter intended l0 be forced bythe blast into the molten metal, either for the purpose of improving or purifying the metal, or for rendering the slags more fusible and easily run o". j

'Within the range or sweep of the hydraulic crane-arm E, I construct a furnace, K, having several compartments or chambers, each of a size suitable for holding a tuyere, and thus affordin g aconvenicnt mode of heating up the tuyeres gradually, and retaining their heat until they may be required. y

One of these chambers, L, is shown in section in Fig. 9. They maybe constructed of firebricks, or of simple cylinders of f lireclay, or in lieu thereof cast-iron vessels or retorts may be inserted in' a vertical position in the furnace K to receive and heat the tuyeres, f

Whenever the apparatus lastly described is to be'put in operation a tuyere is attached by the ilange'j* of the metal lcap f to a corresponding ange, wl1ich forms the extreme end of the tubular crane-arm E. As soon as it is so xed water under pressure isallowed to enter the hydraulic cylinder N bya suitable valve, and by its pressure raise the ram G and the crane-arm ll, with the tuyere attached thereto. The arm ll is then turned round until the tuyere comes vertically over one ot' theretorts or chambers Il. The ram is then lowered by allowiugthe water to l'low out and the tuyere deposited in the retort. as shown by dot-s at I). This pro' cessmay be repeated until the retorts are each lillcd. A gentle lire is then to -be made in the furnace K, and as soon as the tuyeres acquire a red heat they will be lit for use, but may remain-therc in readiness for lany convenient pel riod of time. The interior of the converting vessel A having been heated by burning fuel in the interior thereof', will also be in readiness l'or use as soon as the whole of the unconsnmed i" uel'is discharged therefrom by turnin g the vessel upside down. A charge of molten crude iron having been run into the vessclA, and one ofthe heatedtuyeres having been attached to the crane-arm, the latter is to he raised so as tolil't the tuyere from the chamber L. The arm is then to be tnrncdinto the position shown bypdots at Q andthe tn vere lowered vertically through 'the opening 13 into vessel A. The air l'rom the blast-.engine is conveyed into the lower pnrtoi the pipe Li, and passes through thc pipcll into lthe upper part ofthe ram G, the stalling-box Git'allowing lthe ram to move l'rccly round the pipe Il. so that the tubular arm E may at all times be in connection with the blast Lit. Before lowering the tuyere into thcmcltcn metal the blast-rock must be opened und the air allowed to pass out ot' the orilice's ol' the tuycres, which may then be allowed to descend below thesurface of the metal, and thus ell'ect its conversion into steel or malleable iron in a manner now well understood. As soon as the conversion is effected the crane-arm and tuyereare to be again raised into the portion shown by dots at Q. The malleable metal may then be discharged from the vessel. by

turning it round on its axis by means ot' a hydraulicapparatus hereinafter described. While the vessel is still in a highly-heated state another charge of crude iron may be run in and the tnyere again caused to descend into the li'uid metal, as before. When by this meansthe tuyere becomes too much worn away to act properly1 it may be withdrawn and placed down on the-licor and another one inserted in its place, and so on continuously so long as theA liningotthe converting-vessel lasts, thus avoiding the lossof time and the cooling ofthe vessel caused by the insertion ci' tuyeres into the body of the lining of the vessel by the running in of wet ganister,in the manner hereinbetore described.

My invention also consists in giving motion to the converting-vessel by means ol'a hydraulic ram or plunger' moving vertically in a cylinder, and placed. below the axis of the vessel, the ram or plunger being raised by the pressure of water from any elevated tank or vessel under pressure, and again lowered by allowing the water to escape fro'in beneath it. lihis motion of the ram is communicated to 'the axis ofthe converting-vessel by means of a wire rope, R, att-ached to' the ram U, and passing round and attached to a grooved pulley, S, keyed on theV axis of the vessel. A second wire rope, T, suspends a counterbalancc-weight, V, on the opposite side ofthe pulley. This weight' may be about equal to one-halt' of the weight of theram or plunger, so that whenever the ram is raised the lowering` of the counter-weightwill cause the vessel to turn round, while the lowcrine,` ofthe ram will raise the countiweight and turn -the vesselin the oppositeldirection. These movements will be under the control of the workmamwho admits or discharges thewater from the apparatus by a-snitable valve and handle. The converting-vessel may thus at any time bc made to discharge its contents or be pnt into a position suitable for ruiming in a charge of crude metal.

In pouring out the Huid iron or steel from the converting-vessel the spout oropening from whichI the metal flows is moved (as the pouring proceeds) away from the spot where thepouriug first commenced. I therefore find it advantageous lo provide the hydraulic castingcrane with a suitable sliding n1otion',where by the castingladle may be moved horizontally in a straight line farther fromthe ram or axis of the crane as the pouring proceeds, and thus insure the ladle being at all times beneath the opening from which the metal llows.

When large armor-plates or other large ilat masses ol' malleable iron or steel are required I prefer to cast such masses in shallow ingotl molds, so proportioned that.thc top surface of the ingot shall form one ot' the large planes or surt'aces of the plate or slab'after itis hammered or rolled, and, when desirable, I make such ingots of distinct layers of steel ot' dit'- ferent qualities, or of steel and malleable iron, by pouring into themold molten steel or molten malleable iron` one after the other, so that u union of the different qualities of metal may be et'ected at or near their point ot junction, bnt,'nevertheless, so that the dllfercnt umilities of metal shall for the most part be distinct fromeach other, forminglaycrs or ystrata of hard and soft metal.

The action ofthe air upon the upper exposed surface of the yingot may be lessened or entirely prevented by strewing thereon powdered glass of borax or other readily-fusible liux,

silicate, -or saline matter.

In making ingots or castings in large shallow molds I ind lit advantageous to elongate the tubular lire-clay orice through which the molten metal Hows. from the casting-ladle, so y.that the clay tube may dip into the iuid metal in the mold, and thus prevent the flowing stream of metal from taking down air with it into the tluid mass below. This improvement in the casting-ladle, and in the mode of casting ingots, is shown at`1 `ig.1l`on the annexed sheet ot' drawings. Fig. 1l is 'a vertical sec-v is being run. The iron ladle 1 is lined with loam, as-shown at 2. A conical metal tube, 3,

is secured by a flange to the underside of the ladle,a piece ot' well-baked tube of tire-clay,

or otl tire-clay and plumbagoA, is inserted in the lower end of the iron tube 3, so as to project. therefrom, as shown. The rest ofthe tube 3 may belined with loam, and the upper part ot' the tube may be formed into a valve-seating, as already practiced .iu ladles employed for casting steel, so that the tluid metal is admitted to' the vertical -tubeonly at suchtimes and in such quantities as may hedesired.

When casting with this improved ladle the nozzle 4 should be-made red-hot over the tire, and then be lowered nearly to the bottom of the mold 5. The valve may t-h'en he raised and the fluid metal be allowed to tiow our. It will soon rise above the orifice of the nozzle 4, and

thus preventtheair-from beingtaken'down into y the metal. Air so introduced acts both chemi cally and mechanically in producing* the cellular conditionA so common in cast-steel. As

lthe metal rises in the mold the ladle should also be steadily raised, so as to keep the nozzle only n small distance below the surface of the iiuid metal indel'iendently of the bubbles produced in pouring.

Having described myv invention, and the manner in which th'e same may be carried into el'ect, I desire it to be understood that I do not confine tnysvlt' to the precisev details herein'described, so long as the peculiar features of the several parts of my said invention are retained; butl 1. The arrangement and construction of convertin g apparatus, substantially as and for the purposesshown.

2. Tuyeres which vpass into the fluid metal in a converting-vessel through the upper surface of said metal, in combination with a convert-- ing-vessel mounted on axes. Y, 1

3. The employment, iu the conversion of molten crude or refined pig-iron into steel or into malleable iron, ot' tuyeres built up or conf srructed as herein described.

4. Introducing one or more tuyeres into the converting-vessel, and removing Ithe same therefrom through suitable openings made in said vvessel, in the manner herein described.

5. Heating the tnyeres in a retort or chainber previous to introducing them into a convertingwesseL 6. A tuyere used in a converting-vessel, in combination with any suitabte apparatus capable ot' con'yeniently varying the speed 4of the tuyere, orofinstantly stoppingit when desired.

7. A casting'ladle or'reeeptacle 'for casting malleable iron. or steel or other suitable material, provided 'with a tubular spout adapted to descend i'nto the iug'ot-mold, substantially as,

'hydraulic pressure in a cylinder, for the pnrpose of giving-to such vessel a rotary or semi rotary movement.

HENRY BESSEMER. Witnesses A. L. HOLLEY,l

DAVID LoNGsnoN. 

